


of overthinking and assumptions

by violetivy



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, a dash of angst, really she did, the author tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-26 05:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13229490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetivy/pseuds/violetivy
Summary: Jongin assumes far too much and has an obsession with Kyungsoo's nearly bald head.





	of overthinking and assumptions

**Author's Note:**

>  
> 
> Hello,  
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> First of all, I want to thank the mods for being a bunch of angels and putting up with me, especially recently after all that happened. You guys have been so caring and kind to everyone, I hope you too can be truly happy and healthy this year.  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Secondly, to the prompter: I want to apologise because this isn't the fic I wanted to give you. The fic I intended to submit is more fitting of recent events and I felt that it explored your prompt to the fullest but I couldn't finish it by the deadline. However, I promise to finish and post it once this fest is done.  
> 
> 
>   
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>  To all: stay happy, healthy and have the happiest new year ever.   
> 

Jongin had a crush on a small, nearly bald man called Kyungsoo - whose head he dreamed of pecking. He had often shared the lift of his student accommodation with the man since the beginning of the final year of his master’s degree. It had been adoration at first sight; with his big eyes, plump pink lips, bushy eyebrows and wonderfully textured head Jongin couldn’t help but fall for the man despite never talking to him.

There was only one problem.

The man couldn’t speak English, which was both the best and worst part.

It was the worst because it had ruined Jongin’s hopes of talking, getting to know and asking out the man. He had even come up with a series of pick up lines beforehand, some of which were based around the premise of eggs and egg holders.

He had found out into the third week of term, when he shared the lift with both Kyungsoo and a taller, elfish man. It had been a horrible, tiring day where his hard work and countless hours in the lab produced no results. When he entered the lift, he was more than happy to see his crush, who was standing next to his tall friend. Due the mix of feelings from his shitty day and happiness at seeing Kyungsoo, he forgot to press the button for his floor and only remembered once the lift started to move. He was on the other side of the lift while Kyungsoo was standing right next to the panel of buttons. Something in Jongin told him to use the opportunity to finally talk to his crush and maybe initiate a friendship.

Except, his plan failed.

When he called the man, the other simply hesitated and didn’t reply back, looking at his friend instead with a strange expression. The taller man’s eyes gleamed mischievously, before he turned towards him.

“ _I’m sorry but he can’t speak.”_

Jongin had initially been bewildered because he swore he had heard the bald man speak. A week before, he heard him talk animatedly to his mother in Korean. After much deliberation, over thinking and many assumptions, Jongin had an epiphany.

Kyungsoo must have been an exchange student who was only at the university for a semester. The realisation troubled him a lot because it meant that Kyungsoo would be leaving by the end of the semester and he would probably never see him again. He had to watch three romantic comedies in order to comfort himself because he was so devastated by the idea.

At least he had found out his crush’s name that day, after listening to his conversation with the taller man a little while later.

The fact that Kyungsoo couldn’t speak English was also the best because it allowed for Jongin to rant to Kyungsoo without being understood, whenever he was stressed, and (thankfully) listened to by the man, who was finally noticing at him.

Jongin had been stressed out by his final year research project, part of his master’s degree in biological sciences, and life in general. He didn’t have many people to talk to face to face. His family was back in Cornwall and he didn’t want to worry them too much, especially his mother who constantly fretted about him. He didn’t want to tell his best friend, Sehun, either. His playful friend was already neck deep in assignments and worried about his own research project. There was no point in burdening him with his own fears.

So when Jongin told Kyungsoo about his worries that first time, it wasn’t as if he had planned it. He had been over thinking too much that day, convinced that he’d fail his course miserably and then he saw Kyungsoo in the lift. The exchange student looked concerned, as if he knew something was wrong. Once Jongin saw that, he couldn’t help but spill everything out. Kyungsoo had initially looked quite shock but he never raised his voice in worry or to question him. He silently listened to a troubled man spill out his darkest thoughts and fears. When Jongin arrived at his floor, he quickly thanked Kyungsoo and tried to explain how he found the rant comforting and helpful before fleeing as if his arse was on fire.

He had initially been mortified of that meeting and had tried to block it from his mind. Kyungsoo must have thought he was a creep or an escaped convict, looking for his next victim. Therefore, it was no surprise that when Jongin saw him again a couple of days later he nearly ran out of the lift right away.

But he didn’t because Kyungsoo smiled at him.

It was a gentle, reassuring smile, as if he was pleased to see him again. It was a small gesture but enough to give Jongin the confidence to continue talking to him about what pissed him off that day, which was the fact that Sehun had somehow jammed a knife in the toaster and nearly burned their shared flat kitchen down. Jongin swore he saw Kyungsoo restraining a laugh that day.

Overtime it became their little tradition whenever they met in the lift (which was the only time they met anyway). Jongin would go on a long rant about his day and Kyungsoo would listen to him without uttering a word, often giving adorable or amusing expressions in return.

Jongin was pretty sure he’d told Kyungsoo everything important about him in a couple of weeks. He had rambled on about his dogs, his family, his annoying professor, his dull professor, Sehun’s incompetence, his favourite local chicken shop and once had nearly slipped out his strange obsession with his bald head (though his hair had grown a few centimetres over the weeks).

There had even been one day where he was cussing out a lab mate who had contaminated his samples and in the midst of all the excessive pouting and stomping, he had made Kyungsoo laugh out loud. Jongin stopped instantly when he heard the sound and admired the other as he threw his head back and let out what became his favourite sound in the world. Kyungsoo’s eyes were glistening and his nose scrunched up as he clapped a few times.

That day, Jongin decided that he wanted to make Kyungsoo laugh all the time.

Overtime, Jongin’s feelings grew from a simple crush to something more. Kyungsoo became the highlight of the day and who he looked forward to seeing the most. He was the first person on his mind when he woke up and the last before he fell asleep. After all, what was there not to like about Kyungsoo? He was kind, compassionate, understanding (even though he literally didn’t understand him) and adorable. The small man became his pick-me-up whenever he was feeling low and lonely, the thought of his bright self and smile banished all the dark thoughts away. Jongin knew that he was entering dangerous territory, his crush on the other was going to a place of possibly no return but he didn’t mind. Kyungsoo made him happy.

But at the same time he couldn’t deny the truth and future to come. Kyungsoo was an exchange student after all and would be leaving soon. Every day and meeting marked a step closer to their last one and Jongin didn’t know if he could handle that. In a short space of time Kyungsoo had become something more than he would ever thought. The other somehow became a pillar of support for him and Jongin hadn’t realised how dependent he had become on the man. He didn’t know what he would do when Kyungsoo left; there was no one he could talk as openly with without feeling guilty and annoying afterwards. Maybe his feelings were too dangerous and deep after all. Maybe it was time to tone them down.

Or, maybe it was time to start getting over Kyungsoo.

*

“Back from giving another romantic monologue, Romeo?” Came the voice of Sehun, who was also currently the bane of his existence by constantly bringing up his hopeless crush. He had managed to make Jongin tell him everything after he caught him thinking about Kyungsoo with the most love struck expression.

“Piss off Sehun,” Jongin replied as he entered their shared room and took off his coat.

Sehun looked up at him from his desk where he was working on an assignment with a small smirk. “Ouch, looks like I touched a nerve. What happened, did he reject your confession or something?”

Jongin fell down on his bed and scoffed. “Like I would ever risk confessing to him directly.”

“Why don’t you though? You said he can’t understand you,” Sehun suggested, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms.

The idea wasn’t bad; Kyungsoo couldn’t understand him so it wasn’t like he would be confessing directly. Besides, it might make him feel better about the hopelessness of his crush and could be the start of getting over the man.

*

With Sehun’s suggestion replaying on and on in his mind, Jongin couldn’t stop himself from acting upon it the next time he saw Kyungsoo.

Well, sort of.

“You know, I have something to tell you,” he said shakily, deciding to look at the floor to calm his nerves instead. “I like this person, a lot.”

If Jongin had kept looking at Kyungsoo, he would have seen the other’s smile fall.

“It’s crazy,” he continued, unaware of the look of hurt that washed over Kyungsoo. “I like him so much even though we haven’t talked much. But he’s cute, caring and just makes me so happy. Even if I do confess to him, I doubt he’d understand me, _literally_.”

“But even so,” he started to pace back and forth. “There’s no point in me confessing though. He’s going to leave one day and I’m going to just get hurt in the process.”

Jongin stopped and rubbed his face while groaning, then looked at Kyungsoo.

“I wished you could help me. But most of all I wish I could get over him, or forget him. What’s the point of liking someone when it just hurts in the end?”

That day when Jongin left the lift, Kyungsoo watched him walk away until he was out of sight and sighed deeply.

_So this is what it felt like, being heartbroken._

*

As the end of semester signalled the looming deadlines and tests, Sehun decided it was the perfect reason to go to the bar and get piss drunk. Obviously, Jongin was dragged along with him but he didn’t mind. Any opportunity to get away from constantly thinking about his project and Kyungsoo were more than welcome. Tonight, he would get a moment of peace and hopefully an awful hangover in the morning as evidence.

Except, he didn’t.

“Sehun, you don’t understand. He’s so so so cute, like a beautiful bald Maltese. Ah, his head. I’ve wanted to rub and pat it since the moment I saw him,” Jongin confessed, drunk out of his mind and smiling like a lovesick fool.

Sehun groaned and rubbed his temples. He had brought his best friend over to have fun and forget about his crush for a night, not go into Fully Charged Kyungsoo Advocate mode. Now he’d have to endure a full night of Jongin’s ramblings which, even though were quite amusing and cute, were beginning to drive him crazy.

He’d created a monster.

Jongin laid his head down on the bar top and eyed the shot glass. The only thing on his mind was Kyungsoo and how he wished he was with him then and there, which was funny because he’d never had a proper conversation with the man. The thought suddenly made him sad.

“You know Sehun; what I want to do most is talk to him. For once, _I_ want to be the one who listens quietly while he rants about his day. The good, the bad, all of it. I want to know about his opinions, what he loves and what he hates. To be the one who advises him and helps him feel better by the end of the day. I want to make him happy, so so happy Sehun.”

Jongin relished the idea for a while and imagined a day where the Kyungsoo comes into their lift and would start to animatedly tell him about whatever’s on his mind. Where he looks up to him with his big eyes and asks his opinion on the most mundane of things, talks about his passions, hobbies and even about his subject.

Jongin just wants Kyungsoo to reply to him for once.

Sehun, who had been gulping down his beer immediately stopped and looked towards his friend, who was smiling softly while daydreaming.

“Jongin, dude I...Listen, I know this might sound a bit crazy right now but I think you’re in love.”

Love?

_Love?_

Jongin immediately sat up and looked at his friend as if he had cussed him out.

“I am _not_ in love, Sehun. I’ve barely at a proper conversation with him so that’s not fucking possible,” he knew he liked that man, a lot even. But love? It just didn’t seem realistic.

“See, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. But listening to the way you talk about him, how you think about him - that’s some selfless shit right there, fam. You’re in love mate, I’d even bet a tenner on in,” Sehun argued, rubbing his friend’s back, who looked absolutely bewildered.

Thinking about it, Jongin could see his point. Any thought of Kyungsoo would always make him happy and it did explain that feeling that would flood over him whenever he was near...

“Fuck my already fucked life,” he whispered. “I’m in unrequited love with a man who’s going to leave in a week or two and can’t understand me.”

Sehun started to pat his back while Jongin cursed his fate over and over again. Love was strange, it hurt him so much but at the same time, he would never exchange it for the world. The privilege and joy from knowing Kyungsoo made everything worth it.

*

The next morning, in the midst of recovering from his awful hangover, Jongin met Kyungsoo again in the lift. The exchange student looked in far better shape than him, glowing as he smiled at Jongin. If all the rules of society were abolished then Jongin would have walked up, pinched the others cheeks and cooed his heart out. Maybe even kiss his smooth head while he had the chance. Yet alas, the rules were still in place so all Jongin could do was greet him back with a curt nod.

Once the doors closed Jongin leaned his head back against the wall, looked up at the ceiling and tried to ignore the slight pain in his forehead. Fuck Sehun for encouraging his awful decision of throwing back five shots in a row, when he could barely handle one.

“You know, yesterday I had a chat with my best friend and apparently I’m in love, which is absolutely awful because it’s unrequited,” he looked at Kyungsoo right in the eye. “But it’s okay though because as long as they’re happy I think I’ll be okay too. I’m going to try to get over them now; they’re leaving soon anyway so that might make things easier.”

Jongin didn’t want Kyungsoo to leave. If he could somehow stop the other from doing so, he would. The silent stranger had become a part of his day to day life now, a constant reassurance that despite all shit the university and life threw upon him, he knew he’d always be able to rant it out and clear his mind.

Kyungsoo had made him feel less lonely in a world where he didn’t know who to confess everything on his mind to. Despite not saying a word back, Kyungsoo had constantly reassured him that it was okay to do so with his small smiles and comforting expressions.

He’d miss him so much.

The smaller man looked as if he was about to say something, opening his mouth, when a phone started to ring. Jongin knew for a fact that the ringtone was not his (it was the Spider-Man theme tune) and he was proven right when Kyungsoo fished his phone out of his back pocket, looked at the screen and then apprehensively at Jongin.

His stomach suddenly churned bringing a prickly feeling. Something was wrong.

Kyungsoo brought the phone to his ear and answered.

“Hello, yes I’m Do Kyungsoo. Oh, I’ll make my way over to reception as soon as possible. Thank you for notifying me.”

Jongin froze.

Kyungsoo had spoken in perfect English with a proper British accent. Not those over exaggerated ones, but one that was natural and suggested someone who had lived in the south of England for a long time.

As Kyungsoo continued to talk on the phone while glancing at him from time to time, Jongin turned around and started pressing all the buttons for the floors.

He needed to get out quickly.

Before Kyungsoo could stop him, the doors of the lift had opened and Jongin ran out, ignoring Kyungsoo’s cries to stop. He couldn’t care less about which floor he was on, as he managed to find and stairs and proceeded to run down them.

He had been humiliating himself in front of Kyungsoo for weeks and ruined everything way before it even started.

*

Avoiding Kyungsoo proved to be tough and difficult. He never used the lift after the incident, opting for the stairs instead to prevent running into him. _At least his legs are getting a good workout_ ; it was the bit of optimism he could find in the situation. Spending his entire days either in his room, lab or library, he locked himself away and worked on his project every waking moment of the day. But studying gene expression for hours wasn’t as effective as he thought because Kyungsoo would somehow weasel back into his mind, leaving Jongin no energy to wretch him back out.

Sehun had tried to make him feel better too; taking him out clubbing or suggesting movie marathons but nothing seemed to work. Jongin was heartbroken and that took time to fix.

True, Kyungsoo hadn’t done anything extreme. All he had done was talk in _fucking fluent English_ yet the act seemed like a rejection to Jongin. Kyungsoo had understood all his dumb ramblings, confessions and tantrums. The reason that he had never said anything to Jongin was because he enjoyed playing along and seeing Jongin embarrass himself in front of his. Probably thought he was an idiotic loser who was his weekly form of entertainment.

The thought was so cruel that Jongin always ended up crying because of it.

Sehun tried to console and tell him that he was over thinking everything, that it was probably all a giant misunderstanding. But he didn’t believe him, especially when that voice in his head was saying the exact opposite.

He’d never be good enough for Kyungsoo, never in a million years.

*

It was the penultimate day of the semester and Jongin could barely concentrate. Despite his many efforts to concentrate on the last lecture for the module, all he could think about was a small, man who had stolen his heart in just eight weeks and ultimately stomped on it. A man whose smile lit up his day and whose eyes he had eagerly dreamt of seeing his affection returned in.

When the lecture ended, Jongin quickly packed up and walked out, trying to miss the stampede of students who were jubilant about finish the module.

As he exited the building he saw Kyungsoo, standing and looking expectedly at him.

Without thinking Jongin started to run without a plan, trying to get as far away from the other who was hot on his heels. He couldn’t do this now, he wasn’t ready. His heart still hurt at the thought of him and Jongin didn’t want him to tear it apart further.

However, it seemed like he would have to because he ran into a dead end.

The only sound that could be heard in the area was the panting of the two men and the rustling of a nearby tree. Jongin turned to look at the man, suddenly angry and wanting answers.

“Why are you here? What could you possibly want from me now? Haven’t I humiliated myself enough?” Fired Jongin, tired of the other’s game.

Kyungsoo stood up straight and peered at him, completely confused.

“The only reason I’m here is because you’ve been avoiding me and don’t you dare act like you haven’t. I had to ask around everyone to know what lectures you had, just so I could find you and talk things out.”

The idea of talking things out made Jongin feel sick. Maybe Kyungsoo had installed a secret camera somewhere and wanted to hear him confess again, just to spread it throughout the campus.

“Who even told you?”

“Some tall Korean guy, called Steven, I think?”

_Sehun, the dickhead._

If they were really going to talk this out, then they might as well get to it.

“Why did you pretend you couldn’t speak English?”

“Remember that day you say me in the lift with Chanyeol, that tall guy?” Kyungsoo questioned, tilting his head slightly. “The thing is that he and I made a bet to see if I could go a whole day without speaking to anyone. I don’t speak much anyway so I thought I could, while he figured it just wasn’t possible. So that day, I couldn’t reply to you or I’d have to pay the idiot £50 and buy him a Nando’s.”

Despite seeming quite ludicrous, the explanation did make sense when Jongin thought about it. The other had hesitated when Jongin had called him, looking at his taller friend as if pleading for a bit of help. Furthermore, his friend’s reply made much more sense now.

“ _I’m sorry but he can’t speak.”_

But he still had a big question left.

“Then why didn’t you tell me afterwards, when I used to talk in front of you?”

Kyungsoo’s gave him a slight half smile and his eyes softened.

“At the end of that first rant you did, you said that you found it comforting that I couldn’t understand you and that it had helped you release a lot of tension and stress. So, I thought to let it just be since it was helping you. After all, you did seem to be much happier once you let everything off your chest and I really liked seeing you smile by the end of them.”

Jongin’s heart leapt at the last sentence.

“I thought that if I could help you just by staying quiet and listening to you, then I wouldn’t mind continue doing it,” he continued.

“Oh,” was all Jongin could say. He had misunderstood Kyungsoo. While he thought that Kyungsoo was playing with him, he was actually just being a kind and caring human being.

Jongin could swear he fell for the other just a bit more.

“I’m sorry, for assuming too much without asking,” Jongin rubbed the back of his neck, realising that this entire mess had been caused by his knack for over thinking and assuming everything. He was such an idiot.

“It’s okay, we all make mistakes,” Kyungsoo laughed.

“But I didn’t come find you only to set things straight,” he added, looking at him slightly differently.

“Oh, what is it then?” For some strange reason, Jongin’s heart started to beat a bit faster.

Kyungsoo took in a deep breath. “I know this might seem a bit too soon, but would you like to have dinner with me?”

 _What the fuck_.

_Did Kyungsoo just ask him out?_

All the sirens and alarms started blaring in Jongin’s mind while he stood there silently, staring at Kyungsoo with wide eyes and an open mind.

“W-wait, do you mean like a bro dinner or a date dinner?” He cursed at himself for asking the dumbest yet most important question. Nothing made sense, in a little over ten minutes he had gone from thinking Kyungsoo saw him as a joke to him being asked to dinner.

“Oh, well I was thinking a date dinner but if you want to keep it a bro dinner then that’s fine too.”

Still dumbstruck, Jongin could only think of one thing. “You like me?”

Kyungsoo turned red, fidgeting with his fingers and looking at anywhere but Jongin.

“Well yeah, I guess it had something to do with all those rants,” he tried to joke in order to calm himself, yet failed. “And I heard that you might, well, like me too.”

It was Jongin’s turn to go completely red as he meekly stuttered out a “who told you that?”

“The Steven guy.”

Jongin cursed Sehun internally but thanked him as well.

“So, what do you say to having dinner with me? We can rage about this semester if you want?” Kyungsoo asked again, this time far more hopeful and confident.

Hardly believing that Kyungsoo was here, confessing to him and asking him out, he could only grin. He would finally get his chance to talk and get to know Kyungsoo for once -to be the one that listened while Kyungsoo went on and on about his day and life.

He was finally getting his chance to show Kyungsoo how much he loved and cared for him and maybe, one day, be loved back.

“Sounds perfect.”

He would also finally get his chance to kiss that smooth, not-as-bald head.

  
  


Epilogue

As of the third week of their relationship, Jongin had kissed Kyungsoo’s head two hundred and thirty four times.

  
  


THE END.


End file.
